Gildas the Sage: Part Two

I’ve rediscovered some additional interesting stuff since writing last time.  That little red binder held more than just the writings of Gildas.  It also held some references to other works, especially from “The Celtic Year,” by Shirley Toulson, (Element Books Limited, 1993), and the Oxford Book of Saints (Oxford University Press, 1978).

Gildas was born in the north of the Isle of Britain, near Hadrian’s Wall, sometime between 498 and 500 A.D.  and that he died, according the Welsh Annals, around 570 A.D.  Keep that in mind.  It will be important later on.

He wrote his work, “De Excidio Britanniae,” or “The Ruin of Britain,” in 546 A.D.  The Oxford Dictionary of Saints says this work shows rhetorical power (he was a really good writer) as well as considerable knowledge of the scriptures and other works (he was well educated).  He apparently had access to works and letters from his contemporaries and wrote letters himself, of which we have only fragments.  But the fragments are telling.  From one fragment we read, “Abstinence from bodily food is useless without charity.”  That sounds familiar.  We in the LDS faith are encouraged to fast one day a month, not to go hungry, but to specifically ask a blessing for our own lives or the life of another, and to donate the cost of the meals we miss to the poor – a fast offering.  As Gildas taught, so our Church leaders today teach, that fasting without a purpose is useless. 

Apparently people of Gildas day had begun to practice asceticism, and he recognized it for what it was, “…death has entered through the windows of their pride.”  A clean heart is ultimately what your salvation depends on, not how many meals you do or do not eat.  Pride, not only found in asceticism, but in wealth, was as much a problem then as it is now.  So far, the teachings of Gildas are ringing true to me. 

Next time we’ll dive into his greatest work, “The Ruin of Britain.”